Her Ordinary Worlds
by STRiPESandShades
Summary: The Goblins of the Labyrinth are finding themselves dumber and dumber by the minute, leaving the Kingdom of the Labyrinth crumbling. Human presence seems to improve the situation and it seems there is only one man for the job. David Bowie.
1. A Big, Big Mess on Our Hands

**A/N:** Heyo, folks! This fic is an Alternate Reality sort of deal and I hope you'll understand the Universe here. Also, I'm only updating this guy every once in a while, not very often. I'm not even positive where this is going!  


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_There are reasons, real ones, why I was standing on the rooftop of some club in LA, right on the edge like a suicidal freak from a Tokio Hotel music video. There are even more reasons why David Bowie was right there behind me, a safe distance from the concrete ledge, his arms crossed and looking smug, just waiting for me to fail. But here I am, looking like an emo idiot, arms outstretched into the night, praying that this time I won't fail, not letting Bowie know that I wasn't even that great at this yet. For the sake of the Kingdom, I needed to do this, no turning back. I leaned forward until I could feel it, cool summer air, rushing up to meet me, the concrete alleyway eager to greet me. I screamed the spellwords and felt my bones creaking and complaining loudly and painfully, the pavement becoming more and more enthusiastic. Tears tore from my eyes as I awaited the moment that I realized that I didn't make it in time. But that never happened. Wings spread from my outstretched arms and I took my fall to a new level, swooping up through the alley and landing ever so gracefully right back on top of the concrete ledge at the edge of the roof. David Bowie stood there in awe as I reset mussed feathers with my beak._

"Jareth, we have a problem!" she shouted, storming through the Throne Room, knocking aside Goblin servants from her path and skirting the Audience Pit in the heart of the stone chamber.

The Goblin King who a moment ago was slouched nonchalantly with his legs over the edge of his throne, deep in thought, threw himself to sitting, knowing only one person who would even dare to act this way.

"Annae. What an- erm- _pleasant_ surprise to see you in such a fuss so early!" he tried to manage

"It's about last night, your High Horsedness, otherwise you could have expected me much later" she explained, "I attended the Royal Intelligence Council and there are major issues throughout the whole of the Labyrinth!"

"Issues?" the Goblin King stood, making his way in smooth steps to face her, a tactic she knew he used to frighten people into cowering, "What could possibly be the problem in my Labyrinth, love?"

Annae blushed, but she knew not to let his flattery get to her, "The problem? Do you know what your _Royal_ Council did throughout the entire meeting that you never bothered to attend?"

"If I didn't bother to attend, how should I know?" he asked cryptically.

"The entire council, _the entire Royal council, _sat around and _rolled in the mud_ and tried to set themselves on fire again! Do you know what this is doing to the Labyrinth? Its inner workings? The _economy_? We may very well be on the brink of an economic meltdown, much less a depression, but no one would bother to look into it anyway!"

"Well then, love, you monitor the problem, and come back to me in let's say a month and-"

"Actually, I have monitored the problem over a three-month period" Annae announced, unfolding a large chart over the Royal throne, picking up the Royal riding crop from where it was left on the Royal seat. "This chart depicts basic Goblin intelligence through a percentage of correct answers on 10 simple questions, asked of 300 Goblins of all Labyrinth regions and factions" she pointed with the Royal riding crop, "See the decline?"

Jareth snatched the Royal riding crop from her, "Goblins are always stupid dearest" he sighed, "You can't expect so much of them"

"Oh? I have evidence that they can be expected much more than you believe" she flipped open her leather-bound book she carried everywhere, plucking two small objects from the pages, "Explain these, Your Pompousness"

The Goblin King impatiently flipped through the faded Polaroid photos, "These have to be doctored, even _I _don't understand what these are"

"That, Jareth" she pointed, "Was a single Goblin solving the Quadratic Equation and the other one is the Ideal Gas Law. Check the date on the back"

He flipped over the white plastic sheet, "1986, AD" he read aloud

"That was the year Humans came to film their Hollywood" Annae elaborated

"So are you truly telling me" The Goblin King demanded, "That you believe that there is some association between the Goblins, _my_ people and those filthy Humans and their Hollywood?"

"Exactly."

Jareth shoved the pictures to her chest, "You must be going mad, Annae" he said, striding out of the Throne Room

"You have to admit, Jareth, that the Goblins _did_ seem smarter when the Humans were here!" she insisted, trailing after him

"Perhaps" he answered simply

"And they are insolent fools now" she continued

"Maybe so, but that doesn't explain anything"

"Dammit, Jareth, look at the facts!" she shouted, stopping, "The Goblins acted perfectly for the Human's Hollywood, with no flaws at all, the Warnings said their lines perfectly and they got the Fire Gang not only talking again, but _shutting up_ after that so we didn't all go mad!"

He whipped to face her, angry now, his face looking stony blank but she could tell inside he was furious, "And if there is a correlation, what then? Do I open my whole Kingdom that I have spent _centuries_ perfecting and protecting to the filthy Humans so they may pick and preen and-?"

"No! That's not what I mean!" she protested

"Then what?" he growled, grabbing her by the collar of her loose, white shirt, making her face him at full force

"What if we invited person, just _one _Human to the Labyrinth?" she offered calmly, not taking his bait, "Their presence would affect the Goblin population in a positive manner and help for things to smooth over between the Goblin factions. Then, even, if things should go so well, perhaps this Human could even take a hand at ruling in your stead, giving you a well-deserved Royal vacation"

"Oh? And who, exactly, would you suggest to be so worthy of even being _present_ in my Labyrinth, much less rule it?" he asked, not letting go

"Well, when the Humans came for their Hollywood, they brought a person with them, a man who would perform as yourself. If we can find this man, I believe he would become a great asset to the Kingdom. He helped to explain the Labyrinth to the Hollywood Humans, he understands us and truly gave a hauntingly uncanny performance as the Goblin King"

Seeming to agree, Jareth asked next, "And how will we find him?"

"Humans keep their information surprisingly organized and archived, I'm sure that there are ways to access this information" she explained, "Once we have our information, I can travel to the Aboveground and-"

"Absolutely out of the question" he finally released her and began to stride off

"Then who would you send? A Goblin could hardly be trusted with this crucial mission and the Goblin King very well can't leave his Kingdom in the case that this will take a long period of time"

"You know who it is already, don't you?" he asked, turning to face her again

She strode up to meet him, flipping open her leather-bound book reading aloud, "His name is David Bowie, 63 Human Years old, a world-famous musician as well as an actor, very popular during the 80's but considered a timeless artist and "Musical chameleon" for his ability to change his style with the times. He has been seen as of recent in the clubs of a the largest Human city, Manhattan, being spotted frequently entering a Delicatessen on 126th street that is known throughout the Human's "underground network" as a secret nightclub"

"You've done all of your research ahead of time, haven't you?" he asked softly

"Yes. I have."

"And if I asked you today to go…?"

"I believe I would be ready"

"This problem in our Goblins seems very urgent. It needs to be dealt with immediately"

"That last question wasn't hypothetical, was it?" she asked

"I need you to go, my dearest"

"Then send me" she demanded

"But I will not send you alone" he added, placing his gloved fingertips to her temples, both their eyes slowly sliding closed, "I am giving you a small portion of Human knowledge, basic social etiquette and the like."

Annae felt it, the sharp sting of the information entering her brain until the connection was broken, his hands lowering to her collarbone

"And this" he continued, "Is a spell that will return both you and our guest to the Underground. However, you must have a physical connection to him and not only that but you must have his full consent to bring him. Open it and you will be here. Also infused in the chain is a protection spell" he explained, a small, cool thing suddenly resting around her neck, a golden heart locket on a spindly thread of metal. "The Human's world is a dangerous place, my Annae. You must be careful. Now, turn around and shut your eyes proper, no peeking" he ordered, his hands planted firmly on her shoulders.

Eyes screwed shut, she could feel the rush of hot, stinging air and then suddenly, the rising heat of a bustling city in the summer.

_Lovely day for her to forget our promise along with her birthday_ Jareth thought, his hands falling to his sides.


	2. A Life of Shadow

_"Jeremy… is that you…?" she asked the shadows stifling, with no response. She'd heard the door open and slam shut, and she was hoping it was who she was waiting for and not some burglar or something. "Jeremy?" she called again, tossing off her bedspread and getting to her feet. _

_The door opened slowly, spilling a widening corner of light over the room, half-blinding her for a moment. _

_"I'm here, dearest" he responded, his voice sounding richer and more, well, high class than she remembered_

_"Jeremy? You sound funny, is everything all right?" Ana asked, concerned_

_"It's all right, sweet, everything is just fine" he lied, stepping forward swiftly, gracefully and taking her by the wrists._

_She resisted, tearing herself from his grip and flicking on the lightswitch in irritation, "Did you smoke anything to-" she paused, shocked by what she saw, "…night" she finished hesitantly. "Jeremy…?"_

_"Yes, love?"_

_"What are you wearing?" she asked, her voice shaky._

_Her longtime boyfriend was known to be the general rockstar type, band tee shirts, black jeans and shopping at Hot Topic for Christmas presents but this… this was ummm… "different". Instead of the Ziggy Stardust top she saw him leave the flat in, he now wore a loose, white shirt with a wide collar that overpowered his Renaissance-Faire type leather vest. And since when did Jeremy wear makeup? Eyeliner smudged all the way up to his eyebrows, pretty much, the space filled in by- were those _sparkles_?! And just what was up with those pants? In a few words, it left absolutely nothing to the imagination._

_"What is going on?" she demanded_

_"Ana I'm-" he took a hard swallow, pain finally crossing his features, heavy with sorrow, "I'm leaving. Tonight."_

_"Leaving?" now she was livid, anger and shock painting her cheeks that blotchy blush she had, this time in a rare bright tomato. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_"Ana, please. I don't want to go, truly" he sank with unearthly grace, even then to the edge of her bed, "But I must leave, tonight and I cannot take you with me"_

_Suddenly, she was surrounded with voices, tiny, squeaky, dumbly deep voices. _

_"Aww, your Majesty!"_

_"Take the lady with you!"_

_"You love her don't you?"_

_Creatures, fluffy, scaly, little things suddenly popped out from nowhere, drawers, closet doors, everywhere. Aware of them, she jumped, and shrieked, causing them all to pop back to wherever they came from, closing closet doors behind them with a _pop_._

_Ana, however was not amused, "Someone tell me what is going on!" she cried, stomping over to her desk drawer that was once full of some kind of fluffy monster, "What. The. Hell?" she shouted, ripping the drawer open with her full anger, the whole box flying from the space. Empty._

_"Ana, calm down" his voice was supposed to be soothing, as strong hands stroked up and down her shoulders, but she protested, twisting out of his grip. _

_"Stop it!" she shouted, whipping around to face him, her face a mess of tears and wet, smudged mascara, "Will you tell me what the hell is going on? You show up, with your voice all funny, dressing like some kind of Ren-Faire reject and-"_

_Suddenly, she felt his mouth to hers. Passion, exploding, anger, steaming, both fueling the fire until she tore herself away, staring at him as if she could kill him with a glare._

_"I'm sorry" he whispered, his one green eye and his one brown eye deep with practical pleading for her forgiveness, "If I could take you with me…"_

_"Your Majesty!" a voice, raspy, light and soft called from bellow, a small creature approached the pair, "You can take the lady with you! You just have to-" he beckoned Jeremy downwards to whisper in his ear._

_"Oh, you say?" he asked, pleased by the news, rising, "I'll consider. Thank you, Everard!"_

_"It's Everit!" the little thing insisted_

_When Jeremy looked back to Ana, it seemed that her anger had softened_

_"It seems that perhaps I _can _take you with me. However" he pulled his fingers through her long, dark hair, "To explain it would take time I- we- do not have. You'll have to trust me"_

_She nodded, tears stinging all over again, her fire banked, "All right, Jeremy, I trust you" _

_His fingertips came to the tips of her hair before they returned to her temples, pressing so slightly with light pressure, her mind suddenly blooming open like a rosebud before feeling a fresh stream of consciousness, pure thought wash down the whole of her in gentle heat like a swallow of hot chocolate._

Goblins, King of the Goblins, monarch, human, Prophecy no one gives a Bog about, Labyrinth, Kingdom of the Labyrinth, kingdom is a huge ever-changing maze full of Goblins, random black chicken. Name change, no longer Jeremy. Not cool enough sounding. Jared? Jareth? Jareth works. The Goblins, short little things approach him as he is tuning his guitar and try to get him to come with them. Of course, he refuses, his band is about to go on, no time, Maybe After The Set he offers. One of them throws some strange little ball that explodes in a puff of glitter and smoke and suddenly, he is surrounded by a strange chamber. In the center, knobby hands stand on a pole to show directions, pointing every which way. High walls of tan brick surround him like walls even though a normal, bright blue sky flies overhead like a banner, dotted with clumps of cloud. The only normal thing here.

_"Jeremy!" she shouted, the connection crumbling "Are you… you are the King of the Goblins?" she tried to clarify_

_"That is what they said" was all he could offer. _

_"And you have to go to your Kingdom? To rule?"_

_"That's right, love. They need their king, so they say"_

_"But you can take me with you?"_

_"Well" he sighed, "Now this is where the complications begin. It seems that unless you are Royalty or a young child, travel is impossible"_

_"But you can name me your Queen, right? Right?"  
Jeremy- Jareth shook his head, "Monarchs, rulers of the Labyrinth are named solely by Prophecy, even though no one seems to care about their Prophecies anyway"_

_"But if I can't be a ruler, then how am I getting to this Labyrinth?"_

_"That's the condition, love." He replied softly, his eyes explaining it all_

_"No!" she protested, "No, you can't!" she was frantic, more than that, terrified, panicked, trying to pull away, but Jareth who reached out, firmly grabbing her arm _

_"It's the only way"_

_"I'm not going back there Jeremy- Jareth… _whatever_! You'd better leave me behind, I can't do that, you know it!"_

_"Then answer this: Don't you love me?" he asked, his mismatched eyes thick with pleading_

_"You know I do but-"_

_A fingertip rested on her lips to silence her as he moved in closer to her, his own heat radiating into her. "Don't you trust me?"  
"This has nothing to do with it!" she cried, trying again to pull away, to run as if she were held by a wild fire_

_"Ana, stop this" he commanded almost with no emotion_

_"Let me go! Let me go!" she kept shouting, twisting, pulling, not caring what bruised._

_Finally, he obeyed, releasing her so swiftly, she nearly fell over. Taking advantage of her confusion, he shot his fingers back out to her temples, shoving the magic through her._

Age five. She sits in the corner and plays with her teddy bear quietly, making believe that she was not alone shrouded in shadow and darkness, taking herself to a fairy tale land where things were all right and nothing was wrong. Not ever. But she realizes as her teddy bear is torn from her hands and a fist comes down upon her as she screams that this dream land of happiness never truly existed. Bright dark splotches sprout all over her again. She shouts she screams for someone to help her, for someone to take her away, but she knew that like every other night, no one was about to save her. No one would help her.

_"Annae?" Jareth asked softly_

_The little girl in question trembled like a petrified leaf in the storm. "Wh-who are you?" she stuttered, her voice losing all of Ana's usual strength sounding so small now. "Are you gonna hit me?" she asked, drawing even further away. This man looked like a fairy-tale book. He belonged on the page, not here. He wasn't real, he couldn't be._

_"No, no of course not, dearest. I'm here to take you away to a place where there are no troubles and everything is happy and good" he explained, falling to one knee to level his sincere eyes to her_

_"That place isn't real, I know it" she whispered_

_"I can assure you, Annae, that it is very real indeed. I live there and I can take you away to that special place"_

_"Prove it." She demanded_

_Jareth chuckled, even at age five she was such a strong-willed woman. Slowly, he opened his hand to her, a small, crystal globe forming in his palm, images swirled in the soapy glass. "Then look inside, child. You will see the world I live in is very real indeed"_

_She bent over the crystal, staring, her eyes flicking over the walls and furry things of the Labyrinth_

_"It's like… it's like in my book" she whispered in awe_

_"I can give you real fairy tales, Annae. I can give you a life of happiness. Just come with me"_

_She nodded, "I want to go!" she said loudly_

_Swiftly, the Goblin King scooped the girl up into his arms and placed her on the large, womanly bed, drawing up the thick bedspread to her chin and tucking her in softly_

_"Sleep then dearest" he commanded her gently, softly placing his lips to her forehead, "And you will awake in the Kingdom of the Labyrinth."_


	3. It's Places Like These

Now, what exactly did people her age wear nowadays? Looking down to her outfit, she knew that her dark purple velvet gown wouldn't fly up here, it wasn't in style. What _did_ they wear this century? The last time she was Aboveground was in 1994 in Boston with Jareth and the teenagers would wear these big, men's shirts. Thinking of it, Annae tried it on, adding it to her illusion glamour, feeling the rough flannel on her shoulders. No, that must've been at least ten years ago. That girl, Jen- Jen _something_, from the Hollywood had a lot of fashionable clothes. Thinking on it, Annae added Jen-something's massive sunglasses in a color they called 'Day-Glo'. Would that be called 'retro' now? Maybe if that was "in", she should have a pair of torn-up jeans and neon pink legwarmers like Jen had, and shoulder pads on her shirt. Annae was having all too much fun adding little accessories to her glamour, piling on bracelets and caking on illusionary makeup. She didn't even care that she was standing in the middle of 10th Avenue and that the normal Aboveground mortals were staring. That is, until a massive, reflective bus raced by, its silver surface throwing her image back at her. She looked like a massive fashion disaster, as if both the crappy store down the street and Sak's Fifth ate her whole and tossed her back out. Annae needed to get out of there, fast.

Bringing her fingertips to her lips, she let out a, long, high-pitched whistle, sending the one yellow taxi on that street careening to the curb, stopping only just in time.

"Well, now, looks like you're dressed just for the occasion" the cabbie told her sarcastically as she slid inside, "Where are we headed, lil' lady?"

Then it hit her. She had no idea where she was going. "Ummm…?"

"C'mon, I don't got all day!" the driver growled impatiently.

Annae looked for some clue frantically, street signs, something anything- no, wait, this thing has GPS! Haha!

Calmly, she slammed her hands to the screen, her palms rippling the liquid-crystal.

"Hey! Watch it!" the cabbie protested, but she ignored him.

_Please, show me where David Bowie is_ her magic whispered from her hands to the system.

The computer sighed, _You're lucky I watch enough TMZ to know these things…_

"Destination Set" the female voice of the GPS announced.

"Whoa- what the-?" the cabbie cried, confused.

"Just go there." Annae ordered.

"Yeah, whateva', lady" he grumbled, lurching away from the curb.

Taking in her surroundings was astounding, astonishing. Huge towers like building blocks of steel propelled from the concrete soil, growing to block out all but one strip of bright blue sky. It seemed like the only real thing there. The Aboveground cities always had that breathtaking effect on her.

It was only when the yellow taxi screeched to a slow, about to pull over at the club, that she remembered her glamour looked like some kind of fashion nightmare. Darting around, she looked for some idea of what to wear, but the street was deserted. The only thing that seemed to be of any help was a boutique across the street with its lights still on. The mannequin in the window was wearing some hideous leather jacket made up of multicolored patches over a black dress. It would have to do. With a point, the mannequin was left bare and Annae was wearing that awful thing as she slid out of the cab.

"Hey! Lady! You need to pay your fare!" the driver shouted out of the window

"Oh, right." She reached up and grabbed a handful of leaves from a street tree stuck in its metal grate. "Here" she handed the cabbie the green stuff.

"Whoa, that's just a bunch of leaves!" he protested before looking down, "Lady this is $500! Whoa, hey!"

~:: - ::~

Girls gathered in their clusters in his vicinity, giggling and gossiping amid the overpowering bass _boom_ of the music, hoping to catch his eye. One of the waitresses passed by often, making sure, then positive that he didn't need a refill, or a private table where it was _quieter. _

It was obvious that everyone seemed to make David Bowie, nestled in the shadows of a hightop table, was the center of attention. _Doesn't mean I have to like it_, he reminded himself with a sigh, taking another heady gulp of Whatever It Was He Ordered.

Those girls over there? _Bleach blonde, massive Botox done, nosejob looks like… _he studied her carefully. Fake. The attentive waitress? Her… assets were so large and so round that they might have had a gallon of silicone in them. They're all totally fake. Every single one of them- except for, hell-_ooo, _who was this?

She wasn't a regular here, that was for sure. It was hard to believe she could ever fit in with this crowd. Her hair was a bright red-gold, a kind of color that didn't come in a box of dye, and woven into a huge plait that fell to the small of her back. Upon closer inspection, each strand of the braid was composed of smaller twists. She wandered the dance floor, looking a little lost and a little lonely, like she was either stood up or looking for someone, walking this way and that between crowds. But what caught his eye most of all were her eyes, so clear and sober when women twice her age could get drunk _breathing _here. And purple.

_Those of us with those kind of unique eyes should stick together, eh? _He thought to himself as he stood and made his way over to her.

"Looking for someone, love?" he asked kindly.

Annae looked up. She didn't need her indicator magic tingling in her palm to tell her who this aging rockstar was.

"You, actually."


End file.
